Now that his Nationals have clinched the NL East, Davey Johnson can begin aligning his rotation for the NLDS against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. The manager has said for several days he'd like to start Gio Gonzalez in Game 1. That wouldn't be an issue if Game 1 takes place Sunday (ie. if the Nationals are the No. 1 seed playing at the Wild Card winner) because Gonzalez could start tonight and remain on normal rest.

But if the Nationals end up as the No. 2 seed, they'd open on Saturday in San Francisco, and Gonzalez would need to pitch on short rest. Thus, Johnson has decided not to start the 21-game winner tonight against the Phillies. Instead, it'll be fellow lefty Tom Gorzelanny, making his first start since July 23, 2011.

The Phillies' starter tonight is Johnny Wholestaff. He's got the incredible ability to pitch both right- and left-handed and pitch all nine innings (or more if necessary). Should be a doozy.

This, of course, is all contingent upon the weather holding up. It's not raining at the moment, and the forecast calls for a 10 percent chance of precipitation at 7 p.m., then climbing to 60 percent at 9 p.m. In other words, anybody with a bat in his hands better be swinging at the first pitch he sees to keep this game moving and make sure it becomes official before the heavy stuff hits.

Hey, After the talk of DeRosa and the bench it made me think about him, and that I haven't heard from him in a while. I didn't mean to poke, I really was wondering if he is as impressed as the rest of us!Great job by Drew!